Bloody Hell: It’s That Kind of Day

December 3, 2009

3 minute read

Sometimes I think it’s dangerous for impetuous people like myself to have a blog, but then think if I leave out the goings on from the beauty world, then what kind of insider blog would it be? So here goes – a post I might regret, but I don’t think so.

PR/journalist relationships can be amazingly good, or, in equal measure, amazingly bad. I’ve just been caught out thinking I had a good relationship with one PR office, only to discover that in reality I didn’t. If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I used to write for the papers and various magazines – I still do on occasion, but am so tied up in the on-line beauty world that I rarely have time for it anymore. I’m finding however that it still stands that if you write for what is considered to be a ‘prestige’ publication, then your words count for more. And, that no matter how much you have supported a brand over the years, you leave the past behind. What counts is where and who you write for today. I’m proud of the sites that I write for, enormously proud of my own blog where the beauty world is my oyster, and it’s by choice that I’ve moved to on-line work predominantly (although ironically, I am working on a feature for a national newspaper right now).

I’ve found the beauty PR world divides in those who ‘get’ blogs and those who don’t, and my invitations tell me exactly who does get it and who doesn’t. Some offices keep me on their press lists, and some don’t. Surprise blog supporters are Chanel, Dior and Lauder because for some reason I had assumed their interest would lie solely with Vogue and the like. Newer brands such as Illamasqua and New CID have embraced bloggers with both hands, recognising their value in spreading the word. I’ve always had a robust attitude to being dropped off a press list or moved from a sample list to a press release only list – it’s not as though there aren’t a million and one beauty brands to feature instead – and do often, in fact, get my secret smug moment when one PR moves to another office where they are very blog active. That’s always a fun call.

But today I really felt, well, genuinely upset, to find I’d been excluded from a launch by a brand where I had always thought I had good relationships. I’m cross with myself for minding – it’s only candles after all, and also cross with myself for not seeing it coming when my main contact left recently. I’ve never been the beauty editor of a flashy magazine or newspaper….I’ve always been freelance, so I guess I have become used to the ‘middle’ standing – ‘bottom’ is probably regional or trade, with ‘top’ being the afore mentioned flash mags. It’s just how things are, but this one was unexpectedly painful. Horrible, in fact.

Beauty writers are such a niche and small group, that we kind of all know what everyone else is up to. I can feel wistful when there’s a gorgeous press trip, and, okay, green with envy when the Christmas handbags turn up to others, but on the whole, I love the industry I work in, the people I meet, the amazing places I get to go to and of course, I’m still excited by the products themselves. Now, though, this incident has made me wonder if I shouldn’t focus so hard on having good relationships and step back? PR’s are quick enough to complain if they’re treated with disrespect by journalists or find it impossible to get through to a key editor, but I am beginning to think that maybe there is something in being distant. You find me in an unexpectedly gloomy mood about things today, and I’d love to know your thoughts.

PS: News has spread to the said press office – they phoned. I just didn’t have the energy to speak to them about it. They made their bed, now they’ll have to lie in it.

*all products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.

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30 comments

I also find that there’s a difference between being an ‘online journalist’ and a blogger.

I’ve only been writing for about 3 years, but I found my feet fairly quickly and found myself writing most of the beauty content for a swanky new website with a lot of money behind it and with Tara PT as the face. Then, it went bust a year after it had started and I set up a blog. All the PRs who had told me they enjoyed my features and style of writing wanted nothing to do with me anymore, despite good traffic and readership levels. It took a lot of effort to gain the trust of PR companies again, despite them knowing me. I still struggle with PRs not returning my calls and e-mails and generally fobbing me off. It boils my blood.

It’s enormously short-sighted to dismiss new media in this way. I know as a consumer I search online for articles/reviews rather than looking in a magazine nowadays – long gone are the days when I used to wait for Marie-Claire Health and Beauty to come out, and I rarely bother with Allure any more.

Blogs have such a good targeted audience – anyone reading this blog is going to be really really interested in beauty, and therefore, someone that brand wants to reach. It’s so much more their loss if your relationship ends and you stop featuring the brand because of this incident. Let’s face it, there are a million new/interesting lines to write about.

I think you should be damn well proud of your blog! I am currently studying Magazine Publishing at university and we get told everyother day that content is moving online and everyone should expand on their online ventures. It’s just a shame PRs don’t quite realise this just yet. Anyway, keep up the work, i enjoy reading your blog and it inspires me to work hard on what i want to write in the future.

From a PRs point of view it’s such a shame this happens!! It just goes to show that having a certain level of respect for everyone regardless of their number of years experience and publication they write for ultimately brings in the sales and increases the number of mentions that is reported to the fat cats every month.

This is what a PR’s job is all about… of course with the added bonus of actually making great friends! BBB don’t be sad, there are plenty of us out there that love you for who you are and respect your honest reviews! I am one of them.

So many of us are in the same boat, and I’ve been reading about it a lot on other blogs as well. I have some really good PR contacts but sometimes if I even respond to a press release sent by their colleague (instead of starting a new email to my contact) I almost never get a response. The behaviour of how companies treat bloggers can literally differ from person to person from the same press office.

Bit annoying, but I’m sure we’ll have the last laugh. I never buy magazines anymore, only for fashion. Anything beauty is quicker, better and more indepth online! They’ll realise too late when all the brands that work with us have amazing online reviews and coverage and they have a massive gap in that hugely important market. Lxx

I can’t say that I have ever been a beauty writer, but after years as a makeup artist I really wanted to start a blog to share my love of makeup with others . When I am being pro active and trying to gain info from a company I am often amazed at the response I get. It’s never middle ground it’s either great info or go away we don’t need bloggers.

I can honestly say I have stopped buying product for my kit based on a nasty response from a PR office now and then!

I always look forward to your thoughts on what’s new, so don’t be discouraged by people who don’t see what you have to offer! There are lots of people out there that do see it!

From a trade journo (waving from the bottom rung- hello!)I can relate to dealing with awkward PR situations. I have to say though PR companies acting like this are in denial – the publishing industry is changing massively and blogs are a massively important channel for brands. This PR agency simply are not doing their job properly. You on the other hand are doing a WONDERFUL job with your blog which I love – keep it up xxx

As a former health and beauty PR it’s frustrating to see so many of them stuck in the dark ages and refusing to pay attention to the world of blogs. Any PR worth employing, and there are many out there who are great at this, will be reading beauty blogs and engaging with the online community. It is a lose-lose situation for them to alienate any blogger, especially one who has such fantastic insider knowledge.

You have the upper hand here, as you said, it’s not like there aren’t hundereds of other beauty brands out there to cover. Many of which I suspect would bite your hand off to be covered on this blog.

On the other hand, I can empathise with the event thing. I had a similar wobble this week when I thought I hadn’t been invited to something that I thought was held by a PR I felt I had a good relationship with. Turns out was just crossed wires and I felt a bit petty over it all, but can totally understand the feelings behind it.

Hi BBBI’ve been reading your blog for a long time, although I’ve never left a comment before.Now, I don’t have a blog (but religiously read at least twenty five beauty blogs a day), I am a consumer with a considerable spending habit where beauty products are concerned and last, but not least, someone who hates being taken for granted by any industry vying for my custom. In short, I am the average person that PRs are ultimately trying to influence and upon the behaviour of whom their salaries depend.I can honestly say that out of my 20 recent beauty-related purchases, 18 were directly influenced by a post, a review, an FOTD or a comment on one of the blogs I follow…and I really don’t think I am the only one. To ignore bloggers in not only shortsighted as Grace said, but plain stupid and unproductive. Blogs are not only fora for the exchange of views between people with similar interests, but also a place where consumers can have their voices heard; and for each company that won’t listen, there will be another that will…I know where my money will be going to!I’d say ‘name and shame’, but I realise that might be difficult…in any case, and as far as you’re concerned, it really IS their loss!Thanks for your hospitality.Nina

Now let me add another layer to that cake… be a beauty blogger… in the middle of nowhere.

I was a beauty blogger in London for a years doing an okay job of it, knowing that MANY PRs and brands did not get or, frankly, care about online trending in journalism and customer behaviour.

Now… move to the middle of the USA. Chicago to be exact. Where most of my interactions happen via email and I’ve become invisible, even though my sizeable readership is still majority UK-based! I have to fight tooth and nail for info from some PRs (although others, like you say, CHANEL, Lauder, Space NK, Illamasqua, Clare Forde, Liz Earle’s US rep, etc. are wonderful) and I ceased getting event invitations many months ago (a big thanks to Givenchy for still sending them my way, because I’ll be in attendance next week!).

It takes much more sleuthing and time to break through the glass ceiling (yep, there’s one of these in journalism too, except it’s format-based not gender-based) as a blogger (and one from afar), glossies still seated comfortably on top.

If the rest of the world is online, why do we still put such a premium on print, especially when it’s common knowledge that most of it is pure advertorial, whereas blogs are the real deal?

BBB, I you’ve proven how efficient blogs are at drawing attention. The phone rang after your post was written. The. Same. Day. The offending company on the other end of the line. That should be proof enough for the brand(s).

Like everything else in life, it takes a herculean effort to change the status quo.

A final comment on the subject: said office have done their best all day to rectify things. I feel its churlish and unprofessional not to consider bridge building but I really don’t feel like it. Need to sit on it for a few weeks and then see, but am so glad this situation has highlighted what is a shockingly common issue for bloggers.

And I thought it was just me! We’re about to enter our tenth year, and we have hundreds of thousands of very targeted readers every month, and while some companies completely get it, others treat you like you don’t count.

The way I see it, there are hundreds of products we can cover instead. The Internet isn’t going to go away, an theyll learn that at some point.

Jane don’t you worry, you’ve shown them the error of their ways! I’m sure they regret their oversight. Any self-respecting beauty junkie knows your blog is the first port of call for what’s hot right now. xxxx

I have gone from weekly magazines – to national papers – and then to online – and now I’m working for national papers and magazines again… It sometimes makes me laugh when I think about the brands that didn’t speak, then did speak, then didn’t speak again, then now want to know me… In the most part, people have been really, really supportive of the website, but there are still a few PR’s who refuse to answer my emails. And I am definitely on a fair few of those ‘press release only’ lists – which they put in a jiffy bag, so really would it take much to throw in a lipstick? Or are we supposed to judge how long-lasting and creamy the product is from a bit of paper?

I used to be an avid magazine reader – and I mean AVID, buying every glossy and weekly title under the sun. In the last year, I have bought very few – yet I read this blog and other blogs on a daily basis. I think it’s time for some PR’s to wake up and smell the coffee. Our readership figures are going up on a weekly basis – where as magazines are getting less and less readers with every issue.

However, I want to say THANK YOU to the brands that do support us – I really hope that our online coverage makes a big difference to sales. In fact, last week I had a lovely email from a brand who told me that they’d their online sales shot up after I posted – lets hope we get feedback like that more and more – and that all the other brands listen.

If it’s any consolation you are absolutely not alone in this and what’s more it happens in the male grooming industry too. I have experiencing similar things since turning my back on mags and newspapers to focus on online stuff and blogging. Every day I am shocked, disappointed and sometimes upset at PRs attitudes towards me now that the bulk of my work is online. As you say, there are some companies who are really clued up about digital media – in male grooming P&G and Lauder come to mind, but others are woefully (and sometimes laughably) behind. And you know what? I feel sorry for them. Just keep on doing what you’re doing and watch those people who dissed you come crawling back once they need you! Then tell them to bugger off! lol

I find it strange that PRs are snobby about the kind of coverage they get, when reputable blogs like yours have so many loyal and vocal followers. If they believe in the quality of the product, they shouldn’t have a problem with an honest review and they must have so many lying around the sampling can’t be the issue.

I recently found out that a suspected snub to my email was due to handing over to a PR agency, as the company was in crisis. Unfortunate circumstances, but it didn’t send out a good message being ignored after having a long chat in person.

candle schmandle dahlink. Your blog is perfect and if the PR’s don’t get that net-savvy women are eager to research these often very expensive little treats…and they come to people like you. Blogs who have a healthy balance of blissing and dissing mean we can trust you. You’re not slavishly supporting a product because they are your biggest advertisers (I suspect the main reason some stuff gets plugged to death in the glossies). I buy one or two of your recommendations per month. And they are always practically perfect in every way you describe. I’ll shut up now!

Chica,I really hope you feel better about this whole thing soon. I don’t think I can say anything more eloquent than what everyone else has already said. I just wanted to let you know that I really wish this hadn’t happened to you, that no one should be able to upset you like that. You’re worth so much more. R xxx

I find it disgusting when I hear stories like yours as I feel (maybe naively) that bloggers and journalists should be given the same amount of respect from PRs.That said working in the PR indusrty I know that the rise of the onlin/blogger community can be hard for some agencies to grasp as they’re used to approaching journos/mags etc in a certain way and this new form of media is new territory. But then again I think that’s no excuse because as a PR you have to be open to all things and emabrace the changes that are costanly happening within the industry.

I personally tend to give journalists and bloggers that I’ve grown to love the same regards.